Rodney excelled at school, in the sciences and in art, but the inner vision was not matched by the outer circumstances and commerce beckoned long before his creative flair was freed – now they call it life skills. So it was that In 1976, after a searing experience with the first generation of accounting computers, Rodney finally walked out on commerce and retrained as a creative photographer, – vowing in the process never to use a computer again until it could respond to verbal instructions, e.g. – Hal in Kubrick’s 2001.

This resolution proved premature and lasted just ten years, when, as Director of Photography of Illustrations Ltd, a creative agency dealing mainly in the repackaging of films recently transcribed for the bourgeoning video boom, he discovered the 11CX Apple Macintosh. The baby was not yet talking and looked a bit dull, but Rodney soon realised the potential of this grey desktop box to his company’s, and his own creative future…

 
•Tutor with the Film School at the Royal College of Arts

The culmination of the retraining years leading up to the discovery of the Mac, Rodney was working as a tutor, with Dick Ross and the late Kevin Wooldridge in the department of animation and film at the RCA. Primarily recruited for his photographic and inspirational skills, Rodney found only one student committed to computer animation. Who would have realised that within ten years or so years the company of Pixar would incarnate and that in another few years Apple would have brought this amazing level of animation technology down to student and desktop level.

• Specialist program adviser and film cameraman with Science Films

During this period, Rodney got his first opportunity to work on a film set.  In the process, he became part of an award winning film team. Headed by David Spears of Science Films, the twelve part C4 series: Nature in Focus, won a Wildscreen award. Rodney was specialist program adviser and cameraman on two of the episodes and was even in the frame for presenter. At the time, making films was costed at £1000 per minute and beyond Rodney’s personal reach, but he had got the bug – It could not have been foreseen that within a decade or so Apple would have created Final Cut Pro and brought professional film-making down to grass roots level and at a fraction of its former cost. Rodney has used Final Cut Pro since its introduction and is an avid documentary filmmaker. His first film was a school documentary on estuarine geography and wildlife  – an enduring passion. He has recently worked as a cameraman on S.N.U.B, the first feature film shot exclusively on Sony’s new EX range of HD CF card video cameras.  

• Managing Director of Imago Design Ltd

 
Rodney eventually set up his own creative agency, which he ran for fifteen years, stretching his abilities as a creative photographer and involving him in a range of business and personal management skills. The Mac was at the centre of this process and Imago saw five generations of operating systems and CPU configurations to the introduction of OSX.  During this time Rodney worked with a whole cross section of commercial enterprises and people, rubbing shoulders in all walks of life and beyond.

• Managing Director of Imago Photographic Gallery

 
As a last, truly commercial venture – before turning to a more vocational creative life, Rodney created a company dealing with the general public. With this company, Rodney created an accessible, new and exciting form of minimal art portraiture. His leadership proved inspirational and the company broke even in its first year of trading. Rodney was part of this organisation until early retirement three years ago.

 
• Xyris

This company is the umbrella under which Rodney’s more vocational activities take place and was set up to facilitate a move into the more diverse forms of creativity that Rodney now undertakes. This includes documentary filmmaking, drama production teaching workshops and charity funding for an animal refuge based in Asia – all this activity is paid for with income from social photography – Gemma Ashford Photography.

• Creative Media Director: Fashion Capital and Fashion Enter

Rodney also works with Jenny Holloway in her fast moving and vibrant company of fashion minded young people – a not for profit organisation dedicated to providing the bridge by which students can cross from college into the fashion industry. Rodney uses his entire skill set helping to manage and motivate the people around him as they progress the fortunes of Fashion Capital and Fashion Enter as the premier portal for students and young designers. J.H, ‘an inspiration to all he meets’…

Part of Rodney’s training in photography, involved him in working as a dark room technician with Langen and Wind. The process they undertook, creating advertising images for some of the leading advertising agencies of the time, was Dye Transfer Printing. Not only was this an education in the most refined levels of colour and black and white photographic technology, it was also a prelude to the invention of Photoshop. Rodney’s familiarity with the original process allowed him to understand the terminology and techniques of this phenomenal tool. As a creative photographer and advertising image manipulator, this has been his standard image-editing package since the original version was introduced twenty years ago.

 Skill level maximum

 
• Illustrator

This primary vector tool was an indispensable component in the many technical illustrations, plan projections and logo designs that Rodney has created in his long advertising career.

This primary page layout tool became stock in trade for Rodney’s creative agency. Literally hundreds, if not thousands, of brochures, leaflets, flyers and magazines, all bearing Rodney’s work and participation were created over two decades of creative advertising.

Skill level maximum

• Final Cut Pro (Creative Studio)

 
The professional creative tool of choice for filmmakers. Rodney has completed numerous films using FCP and its ancillary programmes.

Skill level medium

• Dreamweaver and FTP

Rodney has used this and associated tools to create websites since the emergence of the Internet.

 
Skill level medium

Filemaker Pro

The most powerful undiscovered tool for organising everything, you can run a small country with this software.

Skill level medium

Microsoft – Word etc for Mac

 
Skill level medium